Courage is Grace Under Pressure

Okay. Now to Cambodia and my reflections about this lovely and perplexing country. I am having a very hard time with this post because I have had the amazing opportunity to see a side of the country that not many tourists get to see - real life. First I need to talk about tourism, and then I will do my best to describe the amazing tenacity of such an abused people.

TOURISM:
First I must describe my favorite temple - the first one we visited called Ta Promh (you know it from the Tomb Raider movie). I have to briefly describe this temple because, to my mind, it really acts as a metaphor for tourism in Cambodia today.

Ta Promh is beautiful not for its designs, which are very impressive, but because nature as taken its course over the years that it has been abandoned. There are 300 year old trees that have grown right on the temples, with their root systems cascading down the sides and through the rocks of the building. I would urge you to google the temple for images so you know what I am describing.

The reason that I think that this temple acts as a poignant metaphor for tourism in Cambodia today is that in some places the roots of these giant trees have completely mangled and destroyed the structures. However, in other places, the roots have protected the buildings from wear and tear, reinforcing doorways and holding the stones together. I see much the same thing happening in Cambodia. Tourist come and funnel money into a very poor economy, beaten down from decades of unrest. The money is important to the Cambodians, especially since their environment has undergone serious damage from deforestation and industrialisation. The problem with tourism in this country is the problem with tourism in any country, and it is two-fold.

I generally find my fellow tourists absolutely appalling. They are disrespectful and ignorant. Case and point: When you visit Angkor Wat, they request that you cover your knees and shoulders,as the temples were a very sacred place to the people who built them and centered their lives around them. I believe that tourism is a privilege and not a right. People who come to another country to visit should come respectfully and with a desire to learn. When Matt and I went to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise, we were very careful to fully cover ourselves according to the recommendations (despite the potential heat of the day, which was luckily not too bad). However, when we arrived I was shocked to see that the majority of people had both knees and shoulders uncovered. Even worse, I saw a few people smoking and then throwing their cigarette butts on the ground - something that infuriates me when I am at home, let alone in someone else's home.

What was worse than this blatant ignorance and disrespect was that the Cambodians did not do anything about it - and I think it is because these tourists equal revenue. By allowing the tourists to win, the Cambodians are sacrificing their dignity and history and this is the first problem with tourism.

The second problem is, like Vietnam, people who live in such poverty face a difficult moral decision when affluent tourist come and put their wealth on display. I already touched on this in my Mekong Delta post.

Tourism is very important in Cambodia, it is a main source of revenue for many people and believe me when I tell you that they really do need the money. In this way, it reinforces the economy and helps sustain economic growth - like the roots of the trees in Ta Promh helped to keep the structure in tact in some areas. However, Tourism also causes serious problems and tourists are sometimes despicable creatures who should be thrown out immediately. I really think that, unless something is done, these issues could do more harm than good to Cambodia - just like the tree roots broke through the stones and destroyed the temples in Ta Promh.

REAL LIFE:
I think that the Cambodian are some of the most gracious and kind people I have ever known. Matt and I had the incredible opportunity to stay with a family in a rural Cambodian village. This was one of the most difficult but rewarding things I have ever done. I loved every minute of our visit (except making my way to bed without electricity ... so I could see the myriad of creatures I was sharing space with). Our hosts took us around the village and through the fields to see how people lived and worked everyday. I cannot name anyone in this post, as I am going be critical of the Cambodian government and I do not wish to get anyone in trouble. Cambodia does not have a democratic government, only the facade of one. The current prime minister was not truly elected and his party buys votes during election time by building roads and improving infrastructure around some areas. He was actually a member of the Khmer Rouge, and today has ties to the military - which make a coup very difficult. Members of government are all rich people who do not really care about the people - viewing them as cheap labour more than anything. It all sounds rather horrible, and when I show you the pictures that I was able to take in this village, you will see that it is.

The farmers are facing the effects of deforestation or the threat of being thrown off their land to accommodate profitable foreign companies (the people do not actually get a title to the land that they own). The teachers in the village have not been payed their January salaries yet, as we near the end of February. Salaries are rarely on time to begin with, but not usually this late. For a people who know the true sense of the phrase "hand-to-mouth," this is devastating.

Unfortunately, parents have to sacrifice so much for their children's education. Often the sacrifice is too much and, in most cases, the children cannot complete their education. Less than 20% of the children in the village make it through high school.

Through and despite this poverty, the people we met, including the family we stayed with, are so gracious and lovely. Our host used a Hemmingway quote to describe the Cambodians: "Courage is grace under pressure."

And the pressures are great. I was deeply moved when I was told again and again that the farmer's way of life was becoming increasingly more difficult due to deforestation or environmental degradation. The land is the village's only asset, and it is slowly starting to fail its people. The government simply does not care and, since most of the rural population are uneducated, they cannot think past the handouts that come at election time - re-voting in a government who will continue to use and abuse them. I do not want to sound trite when I say that these are some of the happiest people I've met. At home we have absolutely nothing to worry about in the world - and we have social structures to help us out if we fall on hard times. And yet. And yet so many people are discontent or unhappy or always wanting more.

I don't have time to finish everything I would like to say. But a last thought: We met an 87 year old man at a Wat who has lived through so much. I cannot begin to imagine the pain that he has seen. He lived to the French occupancy, the Pol Pot years, Civil war that lasted until 1999(!) and now he is 87 and living in a monastery with absolutely nothing. And yet. And yet he is one of the most beautiful human beings that I have ever had the honour of meeting. Despite everything, he cherishes his ability to pray, meditate, and do good deeds for others every day until he dies. This was what made him so happy and this was what he has attributed to his long life.

I have seen poverty before, but I have never seen such grace amongst it.